Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Response to Questions for Candidates - Part One

As previously mentioned, I am running for an elected position within my church (Ár nDraíocht Féin, A Druid Fellowship, ADF for short). Since the call went out for nominations several weeks ago, several of the members have been posting questions for the candidates in the members only facebook group. Although the group is restricted to members of ADF, however, not all members are part of that facebook group. Some prefer the better tracking features and consistency of email, for example.

Therefore, in addition to responding to those questions on facebook, I will also be sharing my responses by email and on this blog, so that I can hopefully reach as many members as possible.

I grouped the questions together where I believe appropriate, and I divided my answers into chunks. I prefer my answers in "bite size" pieces, rather than as large "walls of text." I assume the rest of you feel the same way.



(Please note that I am posting only the initials of the person who asked the question, so that I do not unintentionally "out" any of them who may not wish their affiliations to be publicly known.)
Graphic by Gerd Altmann (Creative Commons CC0)

JW: What sort of Vision do you bring to the table for the future of ADF?
Are there any *specific* problems or goals that you want to tackle? How do you hope to address those problems/goals? 

JB: Were it up to you, where would you take this organization 5 years from now, and how would you get us there?

CM: I would like to hear the candidates thoughts on strategic planning for ADF. Where do you see us in 10 years? 20 years? How are we going to get there? What are your goals on the MG?

I admit to feeling a bit hesitant to respond to this group of questions, as I really feel that this should be less about *my* vision for ADF and more about the vision of ALL the members. As members of the Mother Grove, I see the Non Officer Directors as the “voice of the folk,” tasked with helping the organization fulfill the needs of the members. As a relatively young religious organization, we are still growing and creating our structure, and I believe that many of our members are drawn to us because they believe they can help “build” the church they need and have been unable to find elsewhere.

With that in mind, I am currently a part of the SWOT analysis team, a position for which I volunteered long before I considered running for NOD. My understanding of that project is that our team will first identify what we believe to be the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of ADF as an organization. Once we have an intimate understanding of how that process works, we will repeat the process, inviting input and feedback from any members who wish to participate. For that reason, I believe that any specific planning should wait until the folk have spoken.

In general, I think that ADF has set a standard for education and practice which is unique among other neo-pagan organizations. I would like to see us continue to do so. In fact, our study programs are periodically reviewed and revised, which I see as a positive step that should be continued. I would also like to see us add additional educational programs and paths, while crafting a culture of consent within our ranks so that our members can study from a place of safety. In these ways, we can continue to serve as an example to other organizations.

Personally, I think that one of our largest strengths is our individual members, because our “own” druidry practices work together to create a culture where our diversities can be celebrated. We are building practices that work within a modern context, rather than reconstructing things precisely as our ancestors did. In this way, ADF is a place where it is okay to ask “what if we try it this way, instead?” I would like to continue encourage that, as we are developing methods of practice not just for ourselves, but which will become the foundations that the next generation builds upon.

In twenty years’ time, we will have adult members that are not yet born. It seems such an obvious thing to say, but at the same time, it’s somewhat profound. We are not building this just for ourselves, but for people that do not even exist yet. We are crafting our legacy and their future while we shape our practices.

If we continue to build a dynamic religion that can adapt and grow alongside our members, then Isaac’s original vision of a network of druids is still achievable, even while incorporating the vision of the members who have joined since he left.

No comments:

Post a Comment